Synchronization of rolling shutter camera and dynamic flash light

ABSTRACT

Various embodiments may be generally directed to techniques for synchronizing operation of a flash light with operation of a camera using a rolling shutter for image capture. Various embodiments provide techniques for illuminating portions of a field of view of a camera substantially synchronously with portions of the field of view of the camera undergoing image capture. Various embodiments provide techniques for illuminating sequential sections of the camera field of view, rather than the entire field of view of the camera, at substantially the same time that a sensor of the camera performs image capture operations using corresponding portions of an image sensor, such as exposing the sensors to light from the image to be captured.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments herein generally relate to synchronization of a flash lightwith image capture operations of a camera.

BACKGROUND

Conventional cameras with rolling shutters typically employ a flashlight that illuminates the entire field of view of the camera for theentire duration of an image camera process. Consequently, portions ofthe field of view can be needlessly illuminated. As a result, the flashlight can quickly drain a power source of these convention cameras.Further, these conventional cameras often reduce the illuminationprovided by the flash light to conserve power resources, therebyreducing image quality of the captured image.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1E illustrate an embodiment of an image capture technique.

FIG. 2 illustrates flash light operation for a conventional camera.

FIG. 3A illustrates an embodiment of a first apparatus.

FIG. 3B illustrates an embodiment of a first system.

FIG. 4 illustrates a first operation of the first apparatus and/or thefirst system.

FIG. 5 illustrates a second operation of the first apparatus and/or thefirst system.

FIG. 6 illustrates flash light operation of the first apparatus and/orthe first system.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a first logic flow.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of a device.

FIG. 9 illustrates an embodiment a second device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments may be generally directed to techniques forsynchronizing operation of a flash light with operation of a camerausing a rolling shutter for image capture. Various embodiments providetechniques for illuminating portions of a field of view of a camerasubstantially synchronously with portions of the field of view of thecamera undergoing image capture. Various embodiments provide techniquesfor illuminating sequential sections of the camera field of view, ratherthan the entire field of view of the camera, at substantially the sametime that a sensor of the camera performs image capture operations, suchas exposing sensors to light from the image to be captured.

Various embodiments may comprise one or more elements. An element maycomprise any structure arranged to perform certain operations. Eachelement may be implemented as hardware, software, or any combinationthereof, as desired for a given set of design parameters or performanceconstraints. Although an embodiment may be described with a limitednumber of elements in a certain topology by way of example, theembodiment may include more or less elements in alternate topologies asdesired for a given implementation. It is worthy to note that anyreference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances ofthe phrases “in one embodiment,” “in some embodiments,” and “in variousembodiments” in various places in the specification are not necessarilyall referring to the same embodiment.

FIGS. 1A-1E illustrate operation of an exemplary image sensor array 100as a rolling shutter. The image sensor array 100 can capture image datawhen operated as a rolling shutter. As shown in FIG. 1A, the imagesensor array 100 can be formed from an arrangement of individual imagesensors 102. The image sensors 102 can be arranged into rows or lines(and/or columns). FIG. 1A illustrates exemplary sensor rows 104, 106,108, 110, and 122. The image sensor array 100 includes the same numberof image sensors 102 in each row but is not so limited. Image data canbe captured from portions of the image sensor array 100 sequentially.For example, image data can be captured from each sensor row of theimage sensor array 100 sequentially, as opposed to capturing image datafrom each sensor row of the image sensor array 100 at the same time.

In FIG. 1A, each image sensor 102 of the sensor row 104 is shown asbeing reset. Resetting an image sensor 102 can clear any chargeaccumulated in the image sensor 102 and/or can prepare the image sensor102 for exposure to light in preparation of image capture.

FIG. 1B can represent an operational state of the image sensor array 100at time later than the operational state of the image sensor 100 asdepicted in FIG. 1A. In FIG. 1B, each image sensor 102 of sensor row 106can be reset and each image sensor 102 of sensor row 104 can be exposedto light to initiate image capture.

FIG. 1C can represent an operational state of the image sensor array 100at time later than the operational state of the image sensor 100 asdepicted in FIG. 1B. In FIG. 1C, each image sensor 102 of sensor row 108can be reset and each image sensor 102 of sensor rows 104 and 106 can beexposed to light.

FIG. 1D can represent an operational state of the image sensor array 100at time later than the operational state of the image sensor 100 asdepicted in FIG. 1C. In FIG. 1D, each image sensor 102 of sensor row 110can be reset and each image sensor 102 of sensor rows 106 and 108 can beexposed to light. Further, each image sensor 102 of sensor row 104 canbe readout, essentially capturing image data from each image sensor 102of sensor row 104.

FIG. 1E can represent an operational state of the image sensor array 100at time later than the operational state of the image sensor 100 asdepicted in FIG. 1D. In FIG. 1E, each image sensor 102 of sensor row 112can be reset and each image sensor 102 of sensor rows 108 and 110 can beexposed to light. Further, each image sensor 102 of sensor row 106 canbe readout, essentially capturing image data from each image sensor 102of sensor row 106. Sensor row 104 can be inactive, since its image datahas been captured. Other sensor rows of the image sensor array that arenot undergoing a reset, exposure, or readout operation can also beconsidered to be inactive.

FIGS. 1A-1E illustrate the sequential operations of resetting, exposing,and reading out each sensor row of the image sensor array 100. At theend of this sequential process, image data from a camera's field of viewcan be captured, with each sensor row capturing image data for acorresponding portion of the camera's field of view. As shown in FIGS.1A-1E, the reset, exposure, and readout operations are shown asoccurring on a row-by-row basis in a top-down fashion but are not solimited. For example, the reset, exposure, and readout operations canoccur on a row-by-row basis in a bottom to top fashion or can occur on acolumn-by-column basis, sweeping left to right or right to left acrossthe image sensor array 100. Further, one or more of the sequentialreset, exposure, and readout operations can be applied to multiple rowsor columns of the image sensor array 100 at the same time. For example,one or more rows of the image sensor array 100 can undergo an imagecapture operation at substantially the same time. In some embodiments,one or more of the sequential reset, exposure, and readout operationscan be applied to portions of the image sensor array 100 in differentoperational directions. For example, a top half of the image sensorarray 100 can undergo reset, exposure, and readout operations in abottom to top fashion while a bottom half of the image sensor array 100can undergo reset, exposure, and readout operations in a top to downfashion.

Conventional cameras with rolling shutters typically provide a flashlight that illuminates a camera's entire field of view for substantiallythe entire image capture operation of the rolling shutter. As such,portions of the camera's field of view that correspond to portions theimage sensor array that are inactive (e.g., that are not actively beingexposed to light or have already been readout to capture image data) canbe illuminated. Since these portions of the image sensor array are notactively capturing image data, the illumination of these correspondingportions of the camera's field of view is inefficient. For example, fora conventional camera with rolling shutter, the flash light illuminationcan last for approximately 0.1 seconds, roughly equivalent to a totalreadout time for the image sensors. However, for the same conventionalcamera, flash light illumination is required only during exposure of thesensors which can be approximately less than 0.01 seconds. As a result,with a conventional camera, the flash light duration over the entirefield of view is much longer than necessary. This can cause aconventional camera to quickly drain a power source. Further, aconventional camera can reduce the amount of light provided by its flashlight in order to save power resources, which can reduce the quality ofa captured image. An alternative to using a rolling shutter can be aglobal shutter. However, global shutter cameras are much more expensiveand typically have low resolution, making them a poor match for use asintegrated cameras in handheld computing devices such as smartphones andtablets.

FIG. 2 provides a representation 200 of operation of a flash light for aconventional camera with a rolling shutter. As shown in FIG. 2, sensorrow reset 204 occurs for each sensor row sequentially. Similarly, at alater time, sensor row readout 206 occurs for each sensor rowsequentially. The image capture process can begin with a first rowundergoing reset 204 and can end with a last row undergoing readout 206,at which time all image data can be captured. Flash light illumination202 can be provided for all sensor lines for the entire image captureprocess. However, effective flash light illumination 208 is providedonly between sensor row reset 204 and sensor row readout 206. Flashlight illumination of a sensor row prior to reset 204 and after readout206 is unnecessary and inefficient. As shown in FIG. 2, extraneous flashlight illumination is indicated by region 210, bounded by flash lightillumination 202 and reset operation 204, and by region 212, bounded byreadout operation 206 and flash light illumination 202.

Disclosed herein are techniques for synchronizing operation of a flashlight with operation of a camera using a rolling shutter for imagecapture. Disclosed herein are techniques for illuminating portions of afield of view of a camera substantially synchronously with portions ofthe field of view of the camera undergoing image capture. Disclosedherein are techniques for illuminating sequential sections of the camerafield of view, rather than the entire field of view of the camera, atsubstantially the same time that a sensor of the camera performs imagecapture operations using corresponding portions of an image sensor, suchas exposing the sensors to light from the image to be captured.

FIG. 3A illustrates an apparatus 300 that can provide synchronization ofa rolling shutter camera and a dynamic flash light. As shown in FIG. 3A,the apparatus 300 can include a camera 202, a processing unit 304, adirected illumination controller 306, and a directed light source 308.The camera 302 can be operated as a rolling shutter camera. The camera302 can include image sensors that can be controlled in a sequentialmanner to effectuate image capture. As further shown in FIG. 3A, theprocessing unit 304 can include a processor circuit 310 and a memoryunit 312.

Processor circuit 310 may be implemented using any processor or logicdevice, such as a complex instruction set computer (CISC)microprocessor, a reduced instruction set computing (RISC)microprocessor, a very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, anx86 instruction set compatible processor, a processor implementing acombination of instruction sets, a multi-core processor such as adual-core processor or dual-core mobile processor, or any othermicroprocessor or central processing unit (CPU). Processor circuit 310may also be implemented as a dedicated processor, such as a controller,a microcontroller, an embedded processor, a chip multiprocessor (CMP), aco-processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a network processor, amedia processor, an input/output (I/O) processor, a media access control(MAC) processor, a radio baseband processor, an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), aprogrammable logic device (PLD), and so forth. In one embodiment, forexample, processor circuit 310 may be implemented as a general purposeprocessor, such as a processor made by Intel® Corporation, Santa Clara,Calif. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, any constituent component of apparatus 300and/or processor circuit 310 may comprise or be arranged tocommunicatively couple with memory unit 312. Memory unit 312 may beimplemented using any machine-readable or computer-readable mediacapable of storing data, including both volatile and non-volatilememory. For example, memory unit 312 may include read-only memory (ROM),random-access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), Double-Data-Rate DRAM(DDRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), static RAM (SRAM), programmable ROM(PROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasableprogrammable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, polymer memory such asferroelectric polymer memory, ovonic memory, phase change orferroelectric memory, silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS)memory, magnetic or optical cards, or any other type of media suitablefor storing information. It is worthy of note that some portion or allof memory unit 312 may be included on the same integrated circuit asprocessor circuit 310, or alternatively some portion or all of memoryunit 312 may be disposed on an integrated circuit or other medium, forexample a hard disk drive, that is external to the integrated circuit ofprocessor circuit 310. Although memory unit 312 is comprised within oras part of apparatus 300 and/or processing unit 304 in FIG. 3A, memoryunit 312 may be external to apparatus 300 and/or processing unit 304 insome embodiments. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

Certain functions or features of the camera 302 can be operated orcontrolled by the processing unit 304. For example, the processor unit304 can initiate or trigger an image capture operation using the camera302 (e.g., by way of user direction or input forwarded to the camera 302by the processing unit 304 or some other component not illustrated inFIG. 3A). Alternatively, the camera 302 can directly receive a userinput to initiate an image capture operation. The camera 302 can controlcertain functions or features such as lens movement or the field of viewof the camera 302.

The directed light source 308 can provide a flash light source for thecamera 302. The directed light source 308 can provide a steerable beamof light with a field of view of the camera 302. The directed lightsource 308 can be implemented using a micro-electromechanical systems(MEMS) based minor. As an example, the directed light source can beimplemented using a MEMS based minor. The directed light source 308 canalso be implemented using a liquid crystal (LC) grating. Further, thedirected light source 308 can be implemented using an optical phasedarray.

The directed light source 308 can illuminate regions or portions of thefield of view of the camera 302. That is, the directed light source 308can be controlled to provide a beam of light that illuminates sequentialsections of the field of view of the camera 302. In this way, thedirected light source 308 can illuminate less than the entire field ofview of the camera 302 can be considered to provide a dynamic lightsource. Moreover, the directed light source 308 can illuminate sectionsof the field of view of the camera 302 in synchronization with therolling shutter image capture operations of the camera 302. This allowsthe directed light source 308 to illuminate portions of the field viewcorresponding to portions of the image sensor that are undergoing reset,exposure, and/or readout operations. In some embodiments, the directedlight source 308 can illuminate portions of an image that are beingexposed (and not other portions of the image), thereby efficientlyilluminating the image. As different regions of the image are exposed,the directed light source 308 can substantially synchronously projectlight onto these particular regions of the image.

The directed illumination controller 306 can control operation of thedirected light source 308. As an example, the directed illuminationcontroller 306 can provide the directed light source 308 with a lightbeam steering signal 318. The light beam steering signal 318 can specifya direction for the steerable beam of light provided by the directedlight source 308 and/or can specify a region of a field of view to beilluminated.

By coordinating the roiling shutter operations of the camera 302 withthe steerable beam of light provided by the directed light source 308,the apparatus 300 can provide more efficient and/or brighterillumination. For example, the directed light source 308 can provideenhanced illumination for distinct regions of the field of view of thecamera 302 substantially synchronously with the rolling shutteroperations of the camera 302. As a result, unnecessary illumination ofportions of a field of view prior to and after rolling shutteroperations by the camera 302 can be minimized or reduced.

Prior to implementing rolling shutter image capture operations, thecamera 302 can provide the processing unit 304 with a camerasynchronization signal 314. The camera 302 can generate and transmit thecamera synchronization signal 314, and the processing unit 304 canreceive and process the camera synchronization signal 314, just prior tothe camera 302 initiating image capture operations using a rollingshutter technique. The camera synchronization signal 314 can trigger theprocessing unit 304 to implement synchronization operations of thedirected light source 308.

Upon receipt of the camera synchronization signal 314, the processingunit 304 can generate an illumination information signal 316. Theillumination information signal 316 can include an illumination patternof the directed light source 308. The illumination pattern can specifythe regions of the field of view of the camera 302 to be illuminated insynchronization with the rolling shutter image capture operations of thecamera 302. The processing unit 304 can generate the illuminationpattern based on the field of view of the camera 302 (e.g., based oninformation regarding the field of view for a particular image captureoperation as provided by the camera 302 to the processing unit 304),based on a clock rate of the rolling shutter operation of the camera 302(e.g., based on a speed at which image sensors of the camera 302 aresequentially reset, exposed, and/or readout), based on characteristicsof the rolling shutter operation of the camera 302 (e.g., based on howmany image sensor rows or columns are grouped together for any of areset, exposure, or readout operation), and based on delays associatedwith the apparatus 300 (e.g., based on delays associated with thedirected illumination controller 306 in adjusting operation of thedirected light source 308, including delays in generating anyoperational signals and/or delays in controlling any operationalcomponent).

The sequential regions or sections of the field of view of the camera302 that are to be illuminated in accordance with the illuminationpattern can comprise overlapping or non-overlapping portions of thefield of view. Further, the sequential regions or sections of the fieldof view of the camera 302 can be horizontally or vertically parsedportions. The illumination pattern can specify the amount of time eachsequential section or region of the field of view of the camera 302 isto be illuminated and can account for the scan direction of the rollingshutter operations of the camera 302. The amount of time specified forillumination can be the same or can be different for each sequentiallyilluminated region. The illumination pattern can further specify thedirection for which the directed light source 308 is to be pointedand/or the direction the provided light beam is to be pointed/directed.As an example, the position of the directed light source 308 can bespecified according to:

${\theta(T)} = {\left( \frac{{Rolling}\mspace{14mu}{Shutter}\mspace{14mu}{Rate}*\left( {T + {{Illumination}\mspace{25mu}{Delay}}} \right)}{{Total}\mspace{14mu}{Sensor}\mspace{14mu}{Lines}} \right)*\left( {{Vertical}\mspace{14mu}{Field}\mspace{14mu}{of}\mspace{14mu}{View}} \right)}$where θ can represent the direction of the provided flash light (e.g.,either by steering a light beam or moving a light source), T canrepresent time (e.g., seconds), the rolling shutter rate can be a rateat which the rolling shutter operates in terms of sensor lines persecond, the illumination delay can account for operational delaysassociated with synchronization operations between the camera and theflash light, the total sensor lines can be the total number of sensorlines of a sensor array of the camera, and the vertical field of viewcan indicate a portion of a field of view and can be specified relativeto one or more lines of the sensor.

The illumination information signal 316 can be provided to the directedillumination controller 306. The directed illumination controller 306can generate the light beam steering signal 318 based on the receivedillumination information signal 316. As previously mentioned, the lightbeam steering signal 318 can specify a movement of the directed lightsource 308. For example, the light beam steering signal 318 can specifya vertical and/or horizontal movement of the directed light source 308and/or can specify an angular movement or tilt to be made by thedirected light source 308 (and/or direction of the provided light beam).Based on the illumination pattern provided in the illuminationinformation signal 316, the light beam steering signal 318 can beupdated or newly provided to the directed light source 308 so as tosynchronize illumination of a portion of the field of view of the camera302 that is currently being processed for image capture by the camera(e.g., corresponding to exposed image sensors). Multiple light beamsignals 318 can be generated based on the illumination pattern such thattaken together, the light beam steering signals 318 provide illuminationof the entire field of view of the camera 302.

The directed light source 308 can be controlled in a continuous or adiscrete manner. That is, the movement of the directed light source 318(e.g., mechanically) or the movement of the light beam provided bydirected light source 318 (e.g., by light beam steering) can be asubstantially continuous movement or can be controlled in discretesteps. Accordingly, the movement of the provided light beam onsequentially illuminated portions of the camera's field of view can becontinuous or provided in a discrete fashion.

Capturing image data can include one or more of the operations ofreading out image data from a sensor or storing the image data in amemory (e.g., the memory unit 312). The apparatus 300 can capture imagedata such as still image data for a photograph or can capture activeimage data such as video data.

The apparatus 300 can be implemented or provided with a system as partof a larger device. For example, the apparatus can be provided as partof a handheld computing device such as, for example, a smartphone. Invarious embodiments, the apparatus 300, as part of a larger system, canimplemented with one or more of the components depicted in FIG. 3A. Forexample, the apparatus can be implemented using the camera 302, thedirected light source 308, and/or the directed illumination controller306 and the larger system can provide the functionality of theprocessing unit 304 and/or any component therein (e.g., a processingunit of a smartphone can provided the functionality of the processingunit 304). In this way, the apparatus 300 can provided a componentfunctionality of a larger system that is integrated into the system. Aspart of a larger system (e.g., a smartphone), the apparatus 300 can beintegrated in the system having a display, a radio frequency (RF)transceiver, and/or a user interface. Further, in some embodiments, theapparatus 300 can be implemented with the processing unit 304 providingthe functionality of the directed illumination controller 306 such thatthe processing unit 304 can directly control the directed light source308.

FIG. 3B illustrates a system 320 that can provide synchronization of arolling shutter camera and a dynamic flash light. In variousembodiments, the system 320 can provide the same functionality andcapabilities as the apparatus 300 to provide sequential illumination andimage capture for portions of a field of view of a camera.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the system 320 can include the camera 302, thedirected light source 308, and a processing unit 322. The processingunit can include the processor circuit 310 and the memory unit 312. Theprocessing unit 322 can further include a camera management component324. The camera management component 324 can include a camerasynchronizer component 326, an illumination component 328, a steeringcomponent 330, and a camera control component 332. The processing unit322, or any constituent component thereof (e.g., the processor circuit310), can be coupled to the camera 302 and the directed light source308. The processing unit 322 can be in operative communication with thecamera 302 and the directed light source 308 such that, for example,information or communication messages can be shared between theprocessing unit 322 and the camera 302 and the directed light source308.

The camera manager component 324 may comprise logic, circuitry, and/orinstructions (e.g., instructions capable of being executed by theprocessor circuit 310) to manage and control operation of the camera 302and the directed light source 308 to effectuate image capture inaccordance with the techniques described herein. In various embodiments,particular management and control functionality of the camera managementcomponent 324 can be provided by the constituent camera synchronizercomponent 326, illumination component 328, steering component 330, andcamera control component 332.

The camera synchronizer component 326 may comprise logic, circuitry,and/or instructions (e.g., instructions capable of being executed by theprocessor circuit 310) to generate camera synchronization information.The camera synchronization information can be generated based on anindication of an initiation of an image capture operation, and canindicate the same. As an example, the camera synchronization informationcan be generated based on receipt of an input of a user or an inputreceived from the camera 302 indicating initiation of an image captureoperation. The camera synchronization information can includeinformation regarding the operating state or characteristics of thecamera 302 and/or characteristics of the initiated image captureoperations. As an example, the camera synchronization information caninclude information regarding the field of view of the camera 302 and/orthe operating speed of the camera 302.

The illumination component 328 may comprise logic, circuitry, and/orinstructions (e.g., instructions capable of being executed by theprocessor circuit 310) to generate illumination information. Theillumination information can be based on the camera synchronizationinformation. The illumination information can cause sequentialillumination of portions of a field of view of the camera 302. Theillumination information can indicate sequential sections of the fieldof view of the camera to be illuminated. The illumination component 328can generate the illumination information based on the informationprovided by the camera synchronization information generated by thecamera synchronizer component 326, and/or based on other stored orpredetermined information regarding the camera 302 (e.g., as stored inmemory unit 312) and/or information regarding the initiated imagecapture operation. The illumination information can generate theinformation regarding the sequential portions of the field of view ofthe camera 302 to be illuminated to effectuate synchronized imagecapture by the camera 302 in accordance with the techniques describedherein.

The steering component 330 may comprise logic, circuitry, and/orinstructions (e.g., instructions capable of being executed by theprocessor circuit 310) to generate light beam steering information basedon the illumination information. The light beam steering information canspecify or can be used to control movement of a light beam of thedirectional light source 308. The light beam steering information canspecify or indicate a position of the light beam within the field ofview of the camera for each of the sequential sections of the field ofview of the camera to be illuminated. The light beam steeringinformation can be provided to the directional light source 308. Thedirection light source 308 can steer its light beam based on the lightbeam steering information to effectuate sequential illumination of thedetermined portions of the field of view of the camera 302.

The camera control component 332 may comprise logic, circuitry, and/orinstructions (e.g., instructions capable of being executed by theprocessor circuit 310) to control the camera 302. The camera controlcomponent 332 can cause the camera 302 to capture image data within thesequentially illuminated portions of the field of view of the camera 302(e.g., as illuminated by the directional light source 308). The cameracontrol component 332 can exchange operative control messages with thecamera 302 to effectuate control of the camera 302. Image data capturedby the camera 302 can be provided to the processing unit 322. Theprocessing unit 322 can receive, process, and/or store the capturedimage data (e.g., in memory unit 312). The camera control component 332can cause the camera 302 to capture image data according to rollingshutter techniques described herein. Collectively, the processing unit322 can control the camera 302 and the directed light source 308 toenable image data to be captured within sequentially illuminatedportions of the field of view of the camera 302 using rolling shuttertechniques described herein.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate synchronized illumination with a rollingshutter camera. The synchronized illumination depicted in FIGS. 4 and 5can be provided by the apparatus 300, the system 320, and/or can beprovided by the rolling shutter synchronization techniques describedherein.

As shown in FIGS. 4-5, a camera field of view 402 includes a horizontalfield of view component and a vertical field of view component. Thecamera field of view 402 can represent the field of view for which acamera can capture an image.

FIG. 4 shows first illuminated region 404. The first illuminated region404 can be a region or portion of the camera field of view 402 that isinitially illuminated during operation of a rolling shutter. The firstilluminated region 404 can extend beyond the camera field of view 402but is not so limited. The first illuminated region 404 can provideillumination for a first horizontal portion 406 of the camera field ofview 402 and for a first vertical portion 408 of the camera field ofview 402. As shown in FIG. 4, the first horizontal portion 406 cansubstantially be the full horizontal component of the camera field ofview 402 and the first vertical portion 408 can be significantly lessthan the full vertical component of the camera field of view 402 but isnot so limited. For example, the first illuminated region 404 canilluminate less than the full horizontal component of the camera fieldof view 402 and/or can cover more of the full vertical component of thecamera field of view 402.

The first illuminated region 404 can illuminate a portion of the camerafield of view 402 that corresponds to image sensors of a camera that cansubstantially synchronously be undergoing image capture operations(e.g., one or more of reset, exposure, and readout). As an example, FIG.4 can illustrate the first illuminated region 404 as illuminating aportion of the camera field of view 402 corresponding to image sensorsthat are substantially simultaneously being exposed.

FIG. 5 can represent illumination of a portion of the camera field ofview 402 at a time later than a time represented by FIG. 4. For example,FIG. 5 can illustrate illumination of a second illumination region 502that can be illuminated subsequent to illumination of the firstillumination region 404 depicted in FIG. 4. The second illuminatedregion 502 can be a region or portion of the camera field of view 402that is illuminated during operation of a rolling shutter. The secondilluminated region 502 can extend beyond the camera field of view 402but is not so limited. The second illuminated region 502 can provideillumination for a second horizontal portion 504 of the camera field ofview 402 and for a second vertical portion 506 of the camera field ofview 402. As shown in FIG. 5, the second horizontal portion 504 cansubstantially be the full horizontal component of the camera field ofview 402 and the second vertical portion 506 can be significantly lessthan the full vertical component of the camera field of view 402 but isnot so limited. For example, the second illuminated region 502 canilluminate less than the full horizontal component of the camera fieldof view 402 and/or can cover more of the full vertical component of thecamera field of view 402.

The second illuminated region 502 can illuminate a portion of the camerafield of view 402 that corresponds to image sensors of a camera that cansubstantially synchronously be undergoing image capture operations(e.g., one or more of reset, exposure, and readout). As an example, FIG.5 can illustrate the second illuminated region 502 as illuminating aportion of the camera field of view 402 corresponding to image sensorsthat are substantially simultaneously being exposed.

The first illuminated region 404 and the second illuminated region 502can be of substantially the same size (e.g., can cover substantially thesame amount of area of the camera field of view 402) but are not solimited. Further, the first illuminated region 404 and the secondilluminated region 502 can overlap. For example, the first illuminatedregion 404 can illuminate a portion of the camera field of view 402 thatis illuminated by the second illuminated region 502. Alternatively, thefirst illuminated region 404 and the second illuminated region 502 canbe non-overlapping. For example, the first illuminated region 404 canilluminate a portion of the camera field of view 402 that is notilluminated by the second illuminated region 502. That is, the firstilluminated region 404 and the second illuminated region 502 can bedistinct.

The first illuminated region 404 and the second illuminated region 502can be provided by the movement of a light source such as, for example,the directional light source 308 depicted in FIG. 3A. As described inrelation to FIG. 3A, the directional light source 308 can provide a beamof light that provides illumination of a portion of a camera's field ofview. Further, the directional light source 308 can be controlled toprovide the first illumination region 404 for a first period of time andthen to provide the second illumination region 502 for a second periodof time. The amount of time that the first illuminated region 404 andthe second illuminated region 502 are provided can be substantially thesame or can be different. As an example, the second illumination region506 can be provided for a longer period of time than the firstillumination region 404. Further, the first and second periods of timecan overlap or can be non-overlapping.

The directional light source 308 can also be controlled to provide asmoothly varying illumination of the camera field of view 402 betweensequentially illuminated regions. That is, the transition from the firstilluminated region 404 and the second illuminated region 502 depicted inFIGS. 4 and 5 can be slowly varying, with illumination of the camerafield of view varying substantially continuously between the firstilluminated region 404 and the second illuminated region 502, ratherthan in discrete steps.

FIG. 6 provides a representation 600 of operation of a dynamic flashlight synchronized with a rolling shutter camera. The representation 600can be indicative of the dynamic and synchronized flash light controlprovided by the apparatus 300, the system 320, and/or can be provided bythe rolling shutter synchronization techniques described herein. As anexample, the representation 600 can be indicative of synchronizedillumination with a rolling shutter camera as depicted and described inrelation to FIGS. 4 and 5.

As shown in FIG. 6, sensor row reset operation 204 occurs for eachsensor row sequentially. Similarly, at a later time, sensor row readoutoperation 206 occurs for each sensor row sequentially. The image captureprocess can begin with a first row undergoing reset 204 and can end witha last row undergoing readout 206. In contrast to FIG. 2, however, flashlight illumination 602 can be provided for all sensor lines moreefficiently. Specifically, each sensor row can be illuminated for only abrief period of time prior to reset and for only a brief period of timeafter readout. The illumination periods prior to reset and after readoutcan be different amounts of time. Further, the illumination periodsprior to reset and after readout can be can be relatively short periodsof time as compared to the length of time between reset and readout. Asa result, the effective flash light illumination 208 is more closelybounded by the flash light illumination 602 in comparison to the flashlight illumination 202 as shown in FIG. 2. Consequently, flash lightillumination is more efficient, as shown by the reduced extraneous flashlight illumination indicated by region 604, bounded by flash lightillumination 602 and reset 204, and by region 606, bounded by readout206 and flash light illumination 602. In comparison to extraneous flashlight illumination regions 210 and 212 of FIG. 2, extraneous flash lightillumination regions 604 and 606 are smaller and therefore indicate moreefficient use of the flash light. As an alternative to the operationdepicted in FIG. 6, the illumination of each row can begin atsubstantially the same time as reset and can end at substantially thesame time as readout, thereby nulling out extraneous flash lightillumination regions 604 and 606.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a logic flow 700, which may berepresentative of operations performed in some embodiments describedherein. For example, logic flow 700 may be representative of operationsthat may be performed in various embodiments by apparatus 300 and/orsystem 320. The logic flow 700 can provide an image capture operationusing a rolling shutter synchronized with a dynamic flash light.

At 702, an image capture operation is initiated. The image cameraoperation, for example, can be initiated by an operator or user of acamera or, for example, the apparatus 300. The image camera operation,for example, can be initiated by a user providing an input (e.g.,pressing a button) indicating that an image within a camera's field isto be captured.

At 704, a camera synchronization signal can be generated. The camerasynchronization signal can be generated based on the initiation of theimage capture operation at 702. As an example, the camerasynchronization signal can indicate that an image capture operation isunderway or about to be implemented. The camera synchronization signalcan be generated prior to any reset, exposure, or readout operation of arolling shutter of a camera and can indicate that such operations areimminent. The camera synchronization signal can be provided by a cameraor other device implementing rolling shutter operations or can beprovided by any device responsive to the image camera initiation at 702.The camera synchronization signal can be provided to a controller of acamera and/or a device capable of directing operation of the cameraand/or capable of directly or indirectly specifying operation of adirection light source (e.g., the direction light source 308).

At 706, an illumination information signal can be generated. Theillumination information signal can be generated based on generationand/or reception of the camera synchronization signal. The illuminationinformation signal can specify operation of a directed light sourcebased on the image capture operation initiated at 702. As an example,the illumination information signal can include an illumination patternto be implemented by a dynamic directed light source. The illuminationpattern can specify regions of a field of the camera to be illuminatedin synchronization with the rolling shutter image capture operation ofthe camera. For example, the illumination pattern can specify theduration and sequence of illumination of specific regions or portions ofthe field of view of the camera.

The illumination pattern can be based on a number of factors related tothe characteristics of the rolling shutter operation of the cameraand/or the characteristics of the image capture operation. For example,the illumination pattern can be based on the field of view of thecamera, characteristic of the image to be captured (e.g., motion orspeed of the image, lighting of the image, color of the image), a clockrate of the rolling shutter operation of the camera, the particularoperation of the rolling shutter camera, and any delays associated withcomponents implementing the illumination of the camera's field of view.The illumination information signal can be provided to a controller ofthe directed light source.

At 708, a light beam steering signal can be generated. The light beamsteering signal can specify movement of the directed light source. Inparticular, the light beam steering signal can specify the change inmovement or direction of the directed light source so as to provide thesequential illumination of the regions of the camera's field of view inaccordance with the illumination pattern. The light beam steering signalcan be based on the illumination pattern. As an example, the light beamsteering signal can specify a rotational, distal, and/or angularmovement or motion of the directed light source sufficient to illuminateregions of the camera's field of view in substantial synchronizationwith rolling shutter operations (e.g., one or more of reset, exposure,and/or readout) of a camera. The light beam steering signal can beprovided to the directed light source.

At 710, a portion of the camera's field of view can be illuminated.Illumination can be provided by the directed light source. The directedlight source can provide a light beam or light source to illuminate thespecific region based on the received light beam steering signal. Theportion of the field of view illuminated can be determined based on thecontrolled direction of the directed light source. The portion of thecamera's field of view that is illuminated can be substantiallysynchronized with the rolling shutter image capture operations of thecamera. The directed light source can illuminate a section of the fieldof view that is currently undergoing image capture operations of therolling shutter (e.g., exposure). For example, the illuminated sectioncan correspond to image sensors currently undergoing reset, exposure,and/or readout operations to effectuate image capture within theilluminated region of the camera's field of view. The illuminatedsection of the field of view can be any portion of the camera's field ofview.

At 712, the portion of the camera's field of view illuminated at 710 canbe captured as a portion of an image. Image capture operations caninclude reset, exposure, and/or readout operations performed with imagesensors corresponding to the illuminated section. In some embodiments,image capture can include storing data generated by the image sensors ina memory (e.g., the memory 312). Steps 708-712 can be repeated for eachsection of the camera's field of view that is to be illuminated based onthe illumination pattern generated or provided with the illuminationinformation signal at 706. In doing so, as an example, sequentialoperations can be performed to control the movement of a directed lightsource (e.g., to adjust a direction in which a light beam is provided),to illuminate a particular section of a camera's field of view, and tocapture image data corresponding to the illuminated portion of thecamera's field of view. These sequential operations can be repeateduntil all sections of the camera's field of view have been illuminatedand have substantially synchronously been captured and or recorded asimage data (e.g., in such form that it can be reproduced).

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of a device 800 that may implement oneor more of apparatus 300 of FIG. 3A, or any portion thereof—includingone or more components of apparatus 300 of FIG. 3A including camera 302,directed illumination controller 306, and/or directed light source308—system 320 of FIG. 3B, or any portion thereof, or logic flow 700 ofFIG. 7, or any portion thereof.

As shown in FIG. 8, the device 800 can include a storage medium 824. Thestorage medium 824 may comprise any non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium or machine-readable storage medium, such as an optical,magnetic or semiconductor storage medium. In various embodiments, thestorage medium 824 may comprise an article of manufacture. In someembodiments, the storage medium 824 may store computer-executableinstructions, such as computer-executable instructions to implement oneor more of the operations described in relation to apparatus 300 of FIG.3A, system 320 of FIG. 3B, and/or logic flow 700 of FIG. 7, for example.Examples of a computer-readable storage medium or machine-readablestorage medium may include any tangible media capable of storingelectronic data, including volatile memory or non-volatile memory,removable or non-removable memory, erasable or non-erasable memory,writeable or re-writeable memory, and so forth. Examples ofcomputer-executable instructions may include any suitable type of code,such as source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code,static code, dynamic code, object-oriented code, visual code, and thelike. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, device 800 may comprise a logic circuit 826. Thelogic circuit 826 may include physical circuits to perform operationsdescribed for apparatus 300 of FIG. 3A, system 320 of FIG. 3B, storagemedium 824, and/or logic flow 700 of FIG. 7, for example. As shown inFIG. 8, device 800 may include a communication interface 802, circuitry804, and computing platform 828, although the embodiments are notlimited to this configuration.

The device 800 may implement some or all of the structure and/oroperations for one or more of apparatus 300 of FIG. 3A, system 320 ofFIG. 3B, storage medium 824, and/or logic flow 700 of FIG. 7 in a singlecomputing entity, such as entirely within a single device.Alternatively, the device 800 may distribute portions of the structureand/or operations for one or more of apparatus 300 of FIG. 3A, system320 of FIG. 3B, storage medium 824, and/or logic flow 700 of FIG. 7across multiple computing entities using a distributed systemarchitecture, such as a client-server architecture, a 3-tierarchitecture, an N-tier architecture, a tightly-coupled or clusteredarchitecture, a peer-to-peer architecture, a master-slave architecture,a shared database architecture, and other types of distributed systems.The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, communication interface 802 may include acomponent or combination of components adapted for transmitting andreceiving communication messages over one or more wired or wirelessinterfaces according to one or more communication standard protocols,such as wireless mobile broadband technologies. For example, variousembodiments may involve transmission and/or reception by communicationinterface 802 over one or more wireless connections according to one ormore 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), 3GPP Long Term Evolution(LTE), and/or 3GPP LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) technologies and/or standards,including their revisions, progeny and variants. Various embodiments mayadditionally or alternatively involve transmissions according to one ormore Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)/Enhanced Data Ratesfor GSM Evolution (EDGE), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System(UMTS)/High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), and/or GSM with General PacketRadio Service (GPRS) system (GSM/GPRS) technologies and/or standards,including their revisions, progeny and variants.

Examples of wireless mobile broadband technologies and/or standards mayalso include, without limitation, any of the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 wireless broadband standards such asIEEE 802.16m and/or 802.16p, International Mobile TelecommunicationsAdvanced (IMT-ADV), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access(WiMAX) and/or WiMAX II, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000(e.g., CDMA2000 1xRTT, CDMA2000 EV-DO, CDMA EV-DV, and so forth), HighPerformance Radio Metropolitan Area Network (HIPERMAN), WirelessBroadband (WiBro), High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High SpeedOrthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) Packet Access (HSOPA),High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) technologies and/or standards,including their revisions, progeny and variants.

Some embodiments may additionally or alternatively involve wirelesscommunications according to other wireless communications technologiesand/or standards. Examples of other wireless communications technologiesand/or standards that may be used in various embodiments may include,without limitation, other IEEE wireless communication standards such asthe IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n,IEEE 802.11u, IEEE 802.11ac, IEEE 802.11ad, IEEE 802.11af, and/or IEEE802.11ah standards, High-Efficiency Wi-Fi standards developed by theIEEE 802.11 High Efficiency WLAN (HEW) Study Group, Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA)wireless communication standards such as Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-FiDirect Services, Wireless Gigabit (WiGig), WiGig Display Extension(WDE), WiGig Bus Extension (WBE), WiGig Serial Extension (WSE) standardsand/or standards developed by the WFA Neighbor Awareness Networking(NAN) Task Group, machine-type communications (MTC) standards such asthose embodied in 3GPP Technical Report (TR) 23.887, 3GPP TechnicalSpecification (TS) 22.368, and/or 3GPP TS 23.682, and/or near-fieldcommunication (NFC) standards such as standards developed by the NFCForum, including any revisions, progeny, and/or variants of any of theabove. The embodiments are not limited to these examples.

In addition to transmission and/or reception over one or more wirelessconnections, various embodiments may involve transmission and/orreception by communication interface 802 over one or more wiredconnections through one or more wired communications media. Examples ofwired communications media may include a wire, cable, metal leads,printed circuit board (PCB), backplane, switch fabric, semiconductormaterial, twisted-pair wire, co-axial cable, fiber optics, and so forth.The embodiments are not limited in this context.

As an example, the communications interface 802 may be a radio interface(e.g., an RF radio interface) having one or more RF transceivers. As anRF interface, the communications interface 802 may include a componentor combination of components adapted for transmitting and/or receivingsingle-carrier or multi-carrier modulated signals (e.g., includingcomplementary code keying (CCK), orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexing (OFDM), and/or single-carrier frequency division multipleaccess (SC-FDMA) symbols) although the embodiments are not limited toany specific over-the-air interface or modulation scheme. Thecommunications interface 802 may include, for example, a receiver 806and a transmitter 808. The receiver 806 and transmitter 808 can togetherbe considered a transceiver and can be adapted for communications over awireless and/or wired communications interface as described above. As aradio interface, the communications interface 802 may also include afrequency synthesizer 810. As a radio interface, the communicationsinterface 802 may include bias controls, a crystal oscillator and/or oneor more antennas 811-f. In another embodiment as a radio interface, thecommunications interface 802 may use external voltage-controlledoscillators (VCOs), surface acoustic wave filters, intermediatefrequency (IF) filters and/or RF filters, as desired. Due to the varietyof potential RF interface designs an expansive description thereof isomitted.

Circuitry 804 may communicate with communications interface 802 toprocess, receive and/or transmit signals. The circuitry 804 may includean analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 812 and a digital-to-analogconverter (DAC) 814. In some embodiments for the communicationsinterface 802 implemented as a radio interface, the ADC 812 can be usedfor down converting received signals and the DAC 814 can be used for upconverting signals for transmission. The circuitry 804 may include abaseband or physical layer (PHY) processing circuit 816 for PHY linklayer processing of respective receive/transmit signals. The circuitry804 may include, for example, a medium access control (MAC) processingcircuit 818 for MAC/data link layer processing. The circuitry 804 mayinclude a memory controller 820 for communicating with MAC processingcircuit 818 and/or a computing platform 828, for example, via one ormore interfaces 822.

In some embodiments, PHY processing circuit 816 may include a frameconstruction and/or detection module, in combination with additionalcircuitry such as a buffer memory, to construct and/or deconstructcommunication frames. Alternatively or in addition, MAC processingcircuit 818 may share processing for certain of these functions orperform these processes independent of PHY processing circuit 816. Insome embodiments, MAC and PHY processing may be integrated into a singlecircuit.

The computing platform 828 may provide computing functionality for thedevice 800. As shown, the computing platform 828 may include aprocessing component 830. In addition to, or alternatively of thecircuitry 804, the device 800 may execute processing operations or logicfor one or more of apparatus 300 of FIG. 3A, system 320 of FIG. 3B,storage medium 824, logic flow 700 of FIG. 7, and/or logic circuit 826using the processing component 830.

The processing component 830 (and/or PHY 816 and/or MAC 818) maycomprise various hardware elements, software elements, or a combinationof both. Examples of hardware elements may include devices, logicdevices, components, processors, microprocessors, circuits, processorcircuits, circuit elements (e.g., transistors, resistors, capacitors,inductors, and so forth), integrated circuits, application specificintegrated circuits (ASIC), programmable logic devices (PLD), digitalsignal processors (DSP), field programmable gate array (FPGA), memoryunits, logic gates, registers, semiconductor device, chips, microchips,chip sets, and so forth. Examples of software elements may includesoftware components, programs, applications, computer programs,application programs, system programs, software development programs,machine programs, operating system software, middleware, firmware,software modules, routines, subroutines, functions, methods, procedures,software interfaces, application program interfaces (API), instructionsets, computing code, computer code, code segments, computer codesegments, words, values, symbols, or any combination thereof.Determining whether an embodiment is implemented using hardware elementsand/or software elements may vary in accordance with any number offactors, such as desired computational rate, power levels, heattolerances, processing cycle budget, input data rates, output datarates, memory resources, data bus speeds and other design or performanceconstraints, as desired for a given implementation.

The computing platform 828 may further include other platform components832. Other platform components 832 include common computing elements,such as one or more processors, multi-core processors, co-processors,memory units, chipsets, controllers, peripherals, interfaces,oscillators, timing devices, video cards, audio cards, multimediainput/output (I/O) components (e.g., digital displays), power supplies,and so forth. Examples of memory units may include without limitationvarious types of computer readable and machine readable storage media inthe form of one or more higher speed memory units, such as read-onlymemory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM),Double-Data-Rate DRAM (DDRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), static RAM(SRAM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, polymermemory such as ferroelectric polymer memory, ovonic memory, phase changeor ferroelectric memory, silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS)memory, magnetic or optical cards, an array of devices such as RedundantArray of Independent Disks (RAID) drives, solid state memory devices(e.g., USB memory, solid state drives (SSD) and any other type ofstorage media suitable for storing information.

Device 800 may be, for example, an ultra-mobile device, a mobile device,a fixed device, a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a mobile computing device, a smart phone, a telephone,a digital telephone, a cellular telephone, digital camera or camcorder,user equipment, eBook readers, a handset, a one-way pager, a two-waypager, a messaging device, a computer, a personal computer (PC), adesktop computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbookcomputer, a handheld computer, a tablet computer, a server, a serverarray or server farm, a web server, a network server, an Internetserver, a work station, a mini-computer, a main frame computer, asupercomputer, a network appliance, a web appliance, a distributedcomputing system, multiprocessor systems, processor-based systems,consumer electronics, programmable consumer electronics, game devices,display, television, digital television, set top box, wireless accesspoint, base station, node B, eNB, PDN-GW, TWAG, eDPG, subscriberstation, mobile subscriber center, radio network controller, router,hub, gateway, bridge, switch, machine, or combination thereof.Accordingly, functions and/or specific configurations of device 800described herein, may be included or omitted in various embodiments ofdevice 800, as suitably desired.

Embodiments of device 800 may be implemented using single input singleoutput (SISO) architectures. However, certain implementations mayinclude multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 811-f) for transmission and/orreception using adaptive antenna techniques for beamforming or spatialdivision multiple access (SDMA) and/or using MIMO communicationtechniques.

The components and features of device 800 may be implemented using anycombination of discrete circuitry, application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), logic gates and/or single chip architectures. Further,the features of device 800 may be implemented using microcontrollers,programmable logic arrays and/or microprocessors or any combination ofthe foregoing where suitably appropriate. It is noted that hardware,firmware and/or software elements may be collectively or individuallyreferred to herein as “logic” or “circuit.”

It should be appreciated that the exemplary device 800 shown in theblock diagram of FIG. 8 may represent one functionally descriptiveexample of many potential implementations. Accordingly, division,omission or inclusion of block functions depicted in the accompanyingfigures does not infer that the hardware components, circuits, softwareand/or elements for implementing these functions would be necessarily bedivided, omitted, or included in embodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example computing device 900. The computing device900 can be an exemplary implementation of the device 800. As an example,the computing device 900 can be a mobile telephone, a smart phone, atablet, a notebook computer, a netbook, or an ultra-mobile computer, orother handheld device. The computing device 900 can include anintegrated camera 902. The computing device 900 can implement one ormore of apparatus 300 of FIG. 3A, or any portion thereof—including oneor more components of apparatus 300 of FIG. 3A including camera 302(e.g., as integrated camera 902), directed illumination controller 306,and/or directed light source 308—system 320 of FIG. 3B, or any portionthereof, logic flow 700 of FIG. 7, or any portion thereof, storagemedium 824 or logic circuit of FIG. 8, or logic flow 700 of FIG. 7. Asan example, computing device 900 can implement apparatus 300 of FIG. 3Aor system 320 of FIG. 3B and can implement processing unit 304 as partof a processing unit of computing device 900 that implements one or moreadditional features of operations of computing device 900.

FIG. 9 can illustrate a front view of the computing device 900. As shownin FIG. 9, computing device can include a display 904. The display 904may comprise any display device capable of displaying informationreceived from a processor of the computing device 900 including fromprocessing unit 304. Examples for display 904 may include a television,a monitor, a projector, and a computer screen. In one embodiment, forexample, display 904 may be implemented by a liquid crystal display(LCD), light emitting diode (LED) or other type of suitable visualinterface. Display 904 may comprise, for example, a touch-sensitivedisplay screen (“touchscreen”). In some implementations, display 904 maycomprise one or more thin-film transistors (TFT) LCD including embeddedtransistors. The embodiments, however, are not limited to theseexamples.

The display 904 can display an image for capture by the camera 902. Forexample, the computing device 900 can provide an image on display 904representative of the field of view of the camera 902. The computingdevice 900 can include a user interface 906. The user interface 906 caninclude any user input device including a keyboard, a keybad, ornavigation buttons or interfaces to enable a user of the computingdevice 900 to provide input or data to the computing device 900. Thedisplay 904 can also provide a user interface or can supplement the userinterface 906.

As an example, a user of the computing device 900 can select a camerafunction of the computing device 900 using the display/user interface904. After doing so, the computing device 900 can provide an image ondisplay 904 representative of the field of view of the camera 902. Theuser can then use user interface 906 to initiate an image captureoperation (e.g., the image capture operation 702 of FIG. 7).

Various embodiments may be implemented using hardware elements, softwareelements, or a combination of both. Examples of hardware elements mayinclude processors, microprocessors, circuits, circuit elements (e.g.,transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors, and so forth), integratedcircuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), programmablelogic devices (PLD), digital signal processors (DSP), field programmablegate array (FPGA), logic gates, registers, semiconductor device, chips,microchips, chip sets, and so forth. Examples of software may includesoftware components, programs, applications, computer programs,application programs, system programs, machine programs, operatingsystem software, middleware, firmware, software modules, routines,subroutines, functions, methods, procedures, software interfaces,application program interfaces (API), instruction sets, computing code,computer code, code segments, computer code segments, words, values,symbols, or any combination thereof. Determining whether an embodimentis implemented using hardware elements and/or software elements may varyin accordance with any number of factors, such as desired computationalrate, power levels, heat tolerances, processing cycle budget, input datarates, output data rates, memory resources, data bus speeds and otherdesign or performance constraints.

One or more aspects of at least one embodiment may be implemented byrepresentative instructions stored on a machine-readable medium whichrepresents various logic within the processor, which when read by amachine causes the machine to fabricate logic to perform the techniquesdescribed herein. Such representations, known as “IP cores” may bestored on a tangible, machine readable medium and supplied to variouscustomers or manufacturing facilities to load into the fabricationmachines that actually make the logic or processor. Some embodiments maybe implemented, for example, using a machine-readable medium or articlewhich may store an instruction or a set of instructions that, ifexecuted by a machine, may cause the machine to perform a method and/oroperations in accordance with the embodiments. Such a machine mayinclude, for example, any suitable processing platform, computingplatform, computing device, processing device, computing system,processing system, computer, processor, or the like, and may beimplemented using any suitable combination of hardware and/or software.The machine-readable medium or article may include, for example, anysuitable type of memory unit, memory device, memory article, memorymedium, storage device, storage article, storage medium and/or storageunit, for example, memory, removable or non-removable media, erasable ornon-erasable media, writeable or re-writeable media, digital or analogmedia, hard disk, floppy disk, Compact Disk Read Only Memory (CD-ROM),Compact Disk Recordable (CD-R), Compact Disk Rewriteable (CD-RW),optical disk, magnetic media, magneto-optical media, removable memorycards or disks, various types of Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), a tape, acassette, or the like. The instructions may include any suitable type ofcode, such as source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executablecode, static code, dynamic code, encrypted code, and the like,implemented using any suitable high-level, low-level, object-oriented,visual, compiled and/or interpreted programming language.

The following examples pertain to further embodiments. In the followingembodiments and in the descriptions provided throughout, a “signal” canbe a message or information—for example, generated, transmitted,received and/or processed to facilitate the exchange of information.

The following examples pertain to further embodiments:

Example 1 is an apparatus, comprising a camera including a rollingshutter and a directional light source to sequentially illuminateportions of a field of view of the camera, wherein the rolling shuttersubstantially synchronously captures image data within the sequentiallyilluminated portions of the field of view.

Example 2 is an extension of Example 1, wherein the directional lightsource illuminates a first portion of the field of view during a firstperiod of time and illuminates a second portion of the field of viewduring a second period of time.

Example 3 is an extension of Example 2, wherein the first and secondperiods of time are non-overlapping.

Example 4 is an extension of Example 2, wherein the first and secondperiods of time are overlapping.

Example 5 is an extension of Example 2, wherein the rolling shuttercaptures first image data during the first period of time and capturessecond image data during the second period of time.

Example 6 is an extension of Example 5, wherein the first image datacorresponds to the first illuminated portion of the field of view andthe second image data corresponds to the second illuminated portion ofthe field of view.

Example 7 is an extension of Example 6, wherein the first illuminatedportion of the field of view and the second illuminated portion of thefield of view overlap.

Example 8 is an extension of Example 6, wherein the first illuminatedportion of the field of view and the second illuminated portion of thefield are non-overlapping.

Example 9 is an extension of Example 1, further comprising a processingunit, wherein the processing unit generates an illumination informationsignal indicating the portions of the field of view to be illuminated bythe directional light source.

Example 10 is an extension of Example 9, wherein generation of theillumination information signal is triggered based on a camerasynchronization signal provided by the camera.

Example 11 is an extension of Example 10, wherein the camerasynchronization signal is provided by the camera prior to image captureby the rolling shutter.

Example 12 is an extension of Example 11, wherein the camerasynchronization signal is generated based on a user input.

Example 13 is an extension of Example 9, wherein the illuminationinformation signal comprises an illumination pattern of the directionallight source.

Example 14 is an extension of Example 13, wherein the processing unitgenerates the illumination pattern signal based on the field of view ofthe camera.

Example 15 is an extension of Example 13, wherein the processing unitgenerates the illumination pattern based on a clock rate of the rollingshutter.

Example 16 is an extension of Example 13, wherein the illuminationpattern indicates sequential sections of the field of view to beilluminated.

Example 17 is an extension of Example 16, wherein the sequentialsections of the field of view of the camera to be illuminated areoverlapping.

Example 18 is an extension of Example 16, wherein the sequentialsections of the field of view of the camera to be illuminated arenon-overlapping.

Example 19 is an extension of Example 9, further comprising adirectional illumination controller, wherein the directionalillumination controller generates a light beam steering signal based onthe illumination information signal to control movement of thedirectional light source.

Example 20 is an extension of Example 19, wherein the movement of thedirection light source is continuously varied.

Example 21 is an extension of Example 19, wherein the movement of thedirection light source is discretely varied.

Example 22 is an extension of Example 1, wherein the directional lightsource provides a steerable beam of light within the field of view ofthe camera.

Example 23 is an extension of Example 22, wherein the directional lightsource comprises a micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) based mirror.

Example 24 is an extension of Example 22, wherein the directional lightsource comprises a liquid crystal grating.

Example 25 is an extension of Example 25, wherein the directional lightsource comprises an optical phased array.

Example 26 is an extension of Example 1, wherein the rolling shuttercaptures image data within the portion of the field of view illuminatedby the directional light source.

Example 27 is an extension of Example 26, wherein the illuminatedportion of the field of view comprises a full horizontal field of viewof the camera and a portion of a full vertical field of view of thecamera.

Example 28 is an extension of Example 26, wherein the illuminatedportion of the field of view comprises a full vertical field of view ofthe camera and a portion of a full horizontal field of view of thecamera.

Example 29 is an extension of Example 1, wherein the image data is videodata.

Example 30 is a system comprising an apparatus of any of examples 1 to29, a transceiver, a user interface, and a display.

Example 31 is a method, comprising generating a camera synchronizationsignal, generating an illumination information signal based on thecamera synchronization signal, sequentially illuminating portions of afield of view of a camera based on the illumination information signal,and capturing image data within the sequentially illuminated portions ofthe field of view.

Example 32 is an extension of Example 31, further comprising generatinga light beam steering signal based on the illumination informationsignal.

Example 33 is an extension of Example 32, further comprising controllingmovement of a directional light source based on the light beam steeringsignal.

Example 34 is an extension of Example 33, wherein generating anillumination information signal comprises generating an illuminationpattern of the directional light source.

Example 35 is an extension of Example 34, wherein the illuminationpattern is generated based on the field of view of the camera.

Example 36 is an extension of Example 34, wherein the illuminationpattern is generated based on a clock rate of a rolling shutter.

Example 37 is an extension of Example 34, wherein the illuminationpattern is generated based on a delay associated with a controller ofthe direction light source.

Example 38 is an extension of Example 34, wherein the illuminationpattern is generated based on a delay associated with generation of theillumination information signal.

Example 39 is an extension of Example 34, wherein the illuminationpattern indicates sequential sections of the field of view to beilluminated.

Example 40 is an extension of Example 39, wherein the sequentialsections are overlapping.

Example 41 is an extension of Example 39, wherein the sequentialsections are non-overlapping.

Example 42 is an extension of Example 31, further comprising capturingimage data using a rolling shutter.

Example 43 is an extension of Example 31, wherein sequentiallyilluminating further comprises illuminating a first portion of the fieldof view during a first period of time and illuminating a second portionof the field of view during a second period of time.

Example 44 is an extension of Example 31, wherein capturing image datafurther comprises capturing first image data during the first period oftime and capturing second image data during the second period of time.

Example 45 is at least one non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium comprising a set of instructions that, in response to beingexecuted on a computing device, cause the computing device to perform amethod according to any of Examples 31 to 43.

Example 46 is an apparatus comprising means for performing a methodaccording to any of Examples 31 to 43.

Example 47 is an apparatus, comprising logic, at least a portion ofwhich is in hardware, to sequentially illuminate portions of a camerafield of view and to capture image data of the sequentially illuminatedportions of the camera field of view.

Example 48 is an extension of Example 47, the logic to sequentiallyilluminate the portions of the camera field of view and to capture theimage data substantially synchronously.

Example 49 is an extension of Example 47, wherein the captured imagedata is video data.

Example 50 is an extension of Example 47, the logic to generate a camerasynchronization signal.

Example 51 is an extension of Example 50, the logic to generate thecamera synchronization signal based on a user input.

Example 52 is an extension of Example 51, wherein the user inputindicates initiation of an image capture operation.

Example 53 is an extension of Example 47, the logic to generate anillumination information signal.

Example 54 is an extension of Example 53, the logic to generate theillumination information signal based on a camera synchronizationsignal.

Example 55 is an extension of Example 53, the logic to generate a lightbeam steering signal based on the illumination information signal.

Example 56 is an extension of Example 55, the logic to control movementof a directional light source based on the light beam steering signal.

Example 57 is an extension of Example 56, the logic to controlcontinuous movement of the directional light source.

Example 58 is an extension of Example 56, the logic to control discretemovement of the directional light source.

Example 59 is an extension of Example 56, the illumination informationsignal comprising an illumination pattern of the directional lightsource.

Example 60 is an extension of Example 59, the logic to generate theillumination pattern based on the camera field of view.

Example 61 is an extension of Example 59, the logic to generate theillumination pattern based on a clock rate of a rolling shutter.

Example 62 is an extension of Example 59, the logic to generate theillumination pattern based on a delay associated with generation of theillumination information signal.

Example 63 is an extension of Example 59, wherein the illuminationpattern indicates sequential sections of the camera field of view to beilluminated.

Example 64 is an extension of Example 63, wherein the sequentialsections are overlapping.

Example 65 is an extension of Example 63, wherein the sequentialsections are non-overlapping.

Example 66 is an extension of Example 47, the logic to capture the imagedata using a rolling shutter.

Example 67 is an extension of Example 47, the logic to illuminate afirst portion of the camera field of view during a first period of timeand to illuminate a second portion of the camera field of view during asecond period of time.

Example 68 is an extension of Example 67, the logic to capture firstimage data during the first period of time and to capture second imagedata during the second period of time.

Example 69 is an extension of Example 47, further comprising a userinterface.

Example 70 is an extension of Example 47, further comprising a display.

Example 71 is an extension of Example 47, further comprising atransceiver.

Example 72 is an extension of Example 71, wherein the transceiver is aradio frequency (RF) transceiver.

Example 73 is an extension of Example 47, further comprising a display.

Example 74 is a system comprising an apparatus according to any ofExamples 47 to 68, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver, a user interface,and a display.

Example 75 is at least one non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium comprising a set of instructions that, in response to beingexecuted at computing device, cause the computing device to sequentiallyilluminate portions of a camera field of view and capture image data ofthe sequentially illuminated portions of the camera field of view.

Example 76 is an extension of Example 75, comprising instructions that,in response to being executed at the computing device, cause thecomputing device to sequentially illuminate the portions of the camerafield of view and to capture the image data substantially synchronously.

Example 77 is an extensions of Example 75, wherein the captured imagedata is video data.

Example 78 is an extension of Example 75, comprising instructions that,in response to being executed at the computing device, cause thecomputing device to generate a camera synchronization signal.

Example 79 is an extension of Example 78, comprising instructions that,in response to being executed at the computing device, cause thecomputing device to generate the camera synchronization signal based ona user input.

Example 80 is an extension of Example 79, wherein the user inputindicates initiation of an image capture operation.

Example 81 is an extensions of Example 75, comprising instructions that,in response to being executed at the computing device, cause thecomputing device to generate an illumination information signal.

Example 82 is an extensions of Example 81, comprising instructions that,in response to being executed at the computing device, cause thecomputing device to generate the illumination information signal basedon a camera synchronization signal.

Example 83 is an extensions of Example 81, comprising instructions that,in response to being executed at the computing device, cause thecomputing device to generate a light beam steering signal based on theillumination information signal.

Example 84 is an extensions of Example 83, comprising instructions that,in response to being executed at the computing device, cause thecomputing device to control movement of a directional light source basedon the light beam steering signal.

Example 85 is an extensions of Example 84, comprising instructions that,in response to being executed at the computing device, cause thecomputing device to control continuous movement of the directional lightsource.

Example 86 is an extensions of Example 84, comprising instructions that,in response to being executed at the computing device, cause thecomputing device to control discrete movement of the directional lightsource.

Example 87 is an extensions of Example 81, wherein the illuminationinformation signal includes an illumination pattern of the directionallight source.

Example 88 is an extensions of Example 87, comprising instructions that,in response to being executed at the computing device, cause thecomputing device to generate the illumination pattern based on thecamera field of view.

Example 89 is an extensions of Example 87, comprising instructions that,in response to being executed at the computing device, cause thecomputing device to generate the illumination pattern based on a clockrate of a rolling shutter.

Example 90 is an extensions of Example 87, comprising instructions that,in response to being executed at the computing device, cause thecomputing device to generate the illumination pattern based on a delayassociated with generation of the illumination information signal.

Example 91 is an extensions of Example 87, wherein the illuminationpattern indicates sequential sections of the camera field of view to beilluminated.

Example 92 is an extensions of Example 91, wherein the sequentialsections are overlapping.

Example 93 is an extensions of Example 91, wherein the sequentialsections are non-overlapping.

Example 94 is an extensions of Example 75, comprising instructions that,in response to being executed at the computing device, cause thecomputing device to capture the image data using a rolling shutter.

Example 95 is an extensions of Example 94, comprising instructions that,in response to being executed at the computing device, cause thecomputing device to illuminate a first portion of the camera field ofview during a first period of time and to illuminate a second portion ofthe camera field of view during a second period of time.

Example 96 is an extensions of Example 95, comprising instructions that,in response to being executed at the computing device, cause thecomputing device to capture first image data during the first period oftime and to capture second image data during the second period of time.

Example 97 is an apparatus, comprising a processor circuit and a cameramanager component for execution by the processor circuit, the cameramanager component comprising a camera synchronizer component to generatecamera synchronization information, an illumination component togenerate illumination information based on the camera synchronizationinformation, the illumination information to cause sequentialillumination of portions of a field of view of a camera, and a steeringcomponent to generate light beam steering information based on theillumination information, the light beam steering information to controlmovement of a light beam of a directional light source.

Example 98 is an extension of Example 97, comprising a camera controlcomponent to control the camera and to cause the camera to capture imagedata within the sequentially illuminated portions of the field of viewof the camera.

Example 99 is an extension of Example 97, wherein the camerasynchronization information indicates initiation of an image captureoperation.

Example 100 is an extension of Example 97, wherein the camerasynchronization information indicates the field of view of the camera.

Example 101 is an extension of Example 97, wherein the camerasynchronization information is generated based on receipt of a userinput.

Example 102 is an extension of Example 97, wherein the illuminationinformation indicates sequential sections of the field of view of thecamera to be illuminated.

Example 103 is an extension of Example 102, wherein the light beamsteering information indicates a position of the light beam within thefield of view of the camera for each of the sequential sections of thefield of view of the camera to be illuminated.

Example 104 is a system, comprising an apparatus according to any ofExamples 97 to 103 and at least one of a transceiver, a user interface,a display, a camera, a memory unit, a memory controller, and adirectional light source.

Example 105 is a method, comprising generating camera synchronizationinformation, generating illumination information based on the camerasynchronization information, the illumination information indicatingsequential sections of a field of view of a camera to be illuminated,and generating light beam steering information based on the illuminationinformation, the light beam steering information to control movement ofa light beam of a directional light source to illuminate the sequentialsections of the field of view of the camera.

Example 106 is an extension of Example 105, further comprisingcontrolling the camera to capture image data within the sequentiallyilluminated portions of the field of view of the camera.

Example 107 is an extension of Example 105, the camera synchronizationinformation indicating initiation of an image capture operation.

Example 108 is an extension of Example 105, the camera synchronizationinformation indicating the field of view of the camera.

Example 109 is an extension of Example 105, wherein generating thecamera synchronization information is based on receipt of a user input.

Example 110 is an extension of Example 105, the light beam steeringinformation indicating a position of the light beam within the field ofview of the camera for each of the sequential sections of the field ofview of the camera to be illuminated.

Example 111 is at least one non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium comprising a set of instructions that, in response to beingexecuted on a computing device, cause the computing device to perform amethod according to any of examples 105 to 110.

Example 112 is an apparatus, comprising means for performing a methodaccording to any of examples 105 to 110.

Example 113 is at least one non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium comprising a set of instructions that, in response to beingexecuted at computing device, cause the computing device to generatecamera synchronization information, generate illumination informationbased on the camera synchronization information, the illuminationinformation indicating sequential sections of a field of view of acamera to be illuminated, and generate light beam steering informationbased on the illumination information, the light beam steeringinformation to control movement of a light beam of a directional lightsource to illuminate the sequential sections of the field of view of thecamera.

Example 114 is an extension of Example 113, comprising instructionsthat, in response to being executed at the computing device, cause thecomputing device to control the camera to capture image data within thesequentially illuminated portions of the field of view of the camera.

Example 115 is an extension of Example 113, the camera synchronizationinformation indicating initiation of an image capture operation.

Example 116 is an extension of Example 113, the camera synchronizationinformation indicating the field of view of the camera.

Example 117 is an extension of Example 113, comprising instructionsthat, in response to being executed at the computing device, cause thecomputing device to generate the camera synchronization informationbased on receipt of a user input.

Example 118 is an extension of Example 113, the light beam steeringinformation indicating a position of the light beam within the field ofview of the camera for each of the sequential sections of the field ofview of the camera to be illuminated.

Numerous specific details have been set forth herein to provide athorough understanding of the embodiments. It will be understood bythose skilled in the art, however, that the embodiments may be practicedwithout these specific details. In other instances, well-knownoperations, components, and circuits have not been described in detailso as not to obscure the embodiments. It can be appreciated that thespecific structural and functional details disclosed herein may berepresentative and do not necessarily limit the scope of theembodiments.

Some embodiments may be described using the expression “coupled” and“connected” along with their derivatives. These terms are not intendedas synonyms for each other. For example, some embodiments may bedescribed using the terms “connected” and/or “coupled” to indicate thattwo or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact witheach other. The term “coupled,” however, may also mean that two or moreelements are not in direct contact with each other, but yet stillco-operate or interact with each other.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, it may be appreciated that termssuch as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” or thelike, refer to the action and/or processes of a computer or computingsystem, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and/ortransforms data represented as physical quantities (e.g., electronic)within the computing system's registers and/or memories into other datasimilarly represented as physical quantities within the computingsystem's memories, registers or other such information storage,transmission or display devices. The embodiments are not limited in thiscontext.

It should be noted that the methods described herein do not have to beexecuted in the order described, or in any particular order. Moreover,various activities described with respect to the methods identifiedherein can be executed in serial or parallel fashion.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement calculated toachieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodimentsshown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations orvariations of various embodiments. It is to be understood that the abovedescription has been made in an illustrative fashion, and not arestrictive one. Combinations of the above embodiments, and otherembodiments not specifically described herein will be apparent to thoseof skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Thus, thescope of various embodiments includes any other applications in whichthe above compositions, structures, and methods are used.

It is emphasized that the Abstract of the Disclosure is provided tocomply with 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allowthe reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure.It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used tointerpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, inthe foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various featuresare grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose ofstreamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to beinterpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodimentsrequire more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather,as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in lessthan all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus the followingclaims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with eachclaim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodiment. In theappended claims, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as theplain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and“wherein,” respectively. Moreover, the terms “first,” “second,” and“third,” etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to imposenumerical requirements on their objects.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a directed light sourcecomprising: a light source to provide a light beam; and steering opticsto change a direction of the light beam; processor circuit coupled tothe directed light source; and a memory to store instructions, whichwhen executed by the processor circuit, cause the processor circuit to:generate camera synchronization information based on a rolling shutterrate of a digital camera, the digital camera comprising a plurality ofimage sensor elements arranged in a plurality sensor lines, the rollingshutter rate to indicate a pattern of sequentially resetting a one ofthe plurality of sensor lines, exposing the one of the plurality ofsensor lines to light at least twice and reading out light exposureinformation from the one of the plurality of sensor lines; generateillumination information, the illumination information to includeindications of a plurality of regions of a field of view of the digitalcamera to sequentially illuminate based on the rolling shutter rate andthe pattern; and generate a light beam steering signal based on theillumination information, the light beam steering signal to cause thesteering optics to change a direction of the light beam to move thelight beam in at least one of a horizontal or a vertical direction tosequentially illuminate the plurality of regions of the field of view.2. The apparatus of claim 1, the instructions, which when executed bythe processor circuit, cause the processor circuit to generate a cameracontrol signal to cause the camera to capture image data within thesequentially illuminated portions of the field of view of the camera. 3.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the camera synchronization informationindicates initiation of an image capture operation.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the camera synchronization information indicates thefield of view of the camera.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theillumination information indicates sequential sections of the field ofview of the camera to be illuminated.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5,wherein the light beam steering information indicates a position of thelight beam within the field of view of the camera for each of thesequential sections of the field of view of the camera to beilluminated.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising the digital cameracoupled to the processor circuit, the steering optics comprising amicro-electromechanical systems mirror, a liquid crystal grating, or anoptical phased array.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, the patterncomprising: resetting, at a first time, light exposure information forthe plurality of light sensor elements of the first sensor line;exposing, at a second time, the plurality of light sensor elements ofthe first sensor line to light; resetting, at the second time, lightexposure information for the plurality of light sensor elements of asecond sensor line adjacent to the first sensor line; exposing, at athird time, the plurality of light sensor elements of the first sensorline and the second sensor line to light; and reading, at a fourth time,out the light exposure information from the plurality of light sensorelements of the first sensor line.
 9. A method, comprising: generatingcamera synchronization information based on a rolling shutter rate of adigital camera, the digital camera comprising a plurality of imagesensor elements arranged in a plurality sensor lines, the rollingshutter rate to indicate a pattern of sequentially resetting a one ofthe plurality of sensor lines, exposing the one of the plurality ofsensor lines to light at least twice and reading out light exposureinformation from the one of the plurality of sensor lines; generatingillumination information based on the rolling shutter rate and thepattern, the illumination information indicating sequential sections ofa field of view of the digital camera to be illuminated; and generatinga light beam steering signal based on the illumination information, thelight beam steering signal to include an indication to cause adirectional light source to emit a light beam and to cause a movement ofthe light beam in at least one of a horizontal or a vertical directionto illuminate the sequential sections of the field of view of thecamera.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising controlling thecamera to capture image data within the sequentially illuminatedsections of the field of view of the camera.
 11. The method of claim 9,the camera synchronization information indicating initiation of an imagecapture operation.
 12. The method of claim 9, the camera synchronizationinformation indicating the field of view of the camera.
 13. The methodof claim 9, wherein generating the camera synchronization information isbased on receipt of a user input.
 14. The method of claim 9, the lightbeam steering information indicating a position of the light beam withinthe field of view of the camera for each of the sequential sections ofthe field of view of the camera to be illuminated.
 15. At least onenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising a set ofinstructions that, in response to being executed at a computing device,cause the computing device to: generate camera synchronizationinformation based on a rolling shutter rate of a digital camera, thedigital camera comprising a plurality of image sensor elements arrangedin a plurality sensor lines, the rolling shutter rate to indicate apattern of sequentially resetting a one of the plurality of sensorlines, exposing the one of the plurality of sensor lines to light atleast twice and reading out light exposure information from the one ofthe plurality of sensor lines; generate illumination information basedon the rolling shutter rate and the pattern, the illuminationinformation indicating sequential sections of a field of view of thedigital camera to be illuminated; and generate a light beam steeringsignal based on the illumination information, the light beam steeringsignal to include an indication to cause a directional light source toemit a light beam and to cause a movement of the light beam in at leastone of a horizontal or a vertical direction to illuminate the sequentialsections of the field of view of the camera.
 16. The at least onenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, comprisinginstructions that, in response to being executed at the computingdevice, cause the computing device to control the camera to captureimage data within the sequentially illuminated sections of the field ofview of the camera.
 17. The at least one non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 15, the camera synchronizationinformation indicating initiation of an image capture operation.
 18. Theat least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim15, the camera synchronization information indicating the field of viewof the camera.
 19. The at least one non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 15, comprising instructions that, in response tobeing executed at the computing device, cause the computing device togenerate the camera synchronization information based on receipt of auser input.
 20. The at least one non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 15, the light beam steering informationindicating a position of the light beam within the field of view of thecamera for each of the sequential sections of the field of view of thecamera to be illuminated.